Carlisle Youth Zone Flooding Update

The recent havoc caused by storm Desmond saw our Carlisle Youth Zone swamped by four feet of water, destroying the ground floor and much of the centre’s equipment.

Carlisle Youth Zone, which opened in 2011, attracts over 1,000 seven to twenty-one year olds every week to take part in a range of sport, arts, health and employability activities. Around 40 staff and volunteers have been affected and about 60 other community organisations are unable to use the building.

As you can imagine the devastation caused by the flooding has been severe and over the past week the team at Carlisle Youth Zone have been working tirelessly to resume some sort of provision.

If you would like to offer your support to the Youth Zone to help them get back on their feet then please Text Zone00 followed by the amount (suggested £5) to 70070.

It is hoped that limited sessions for those young people most affected by the flooding will be able to take place on the first floor of the building this week and next. Contractors are currently removing the damaged equipment, floor and wall plaster but it is not yet known how long it will be before the centre can fully re-open.

We have been humbled by the strength of our network and the local people of Carlisle who with employees, volunteers and young people are pulling together to provide support in the form of fundraising, equipment and food and gifts for those members who have lost their homes and their youth centre.

Immediate relief has also come in the form of an emergency £10,000 donation by The Queen’s Trust, which will be used to purchase equipment in support of community outreach activities.

Lynsey Buckle, development manager at Carlisle Youth Zone, has given us an update from on the ground: “Losing an asset like this is a major blow to a community already having to deal with the impact of the flood on residential properties and businesses.

“We’re relied upon to give young people a safe and warm place to go, particularly in the winter holiday season when many working parents need the out of school services we provide.

“Everything is being done within our power to ensure we reach the most vulnerable young people first and we’ll be working tirelessly to become fully operational as soon as we can.

“The support we’ve had from The Queen’s Trust, our fellow Youth Zone colleagues and young people across the network and the community itself has been inspiring and heart-warming when faced with such a bleak situation.”

Nicola Brentnall, Director, The Queen’s Trust said: “We’re a proud supporter of the OnSide Youth Zone network, so when we heard about the flood damage we wanted to do our bit to support the brave and generous community in Carlisle.

“Youth Zones play a vital role in their areas, which is why everyone is pulling together to help those young people worst affected and ensure Carlisle can re-open its doors as quickly as possible.”

This time of year should be one of celebration with Christmas literally a matter of days away; we’re incredibly proud of the determination and resilience of the team up at Carlisle to get their doors back open and support some of the city’s most vulnerable young people.

If you would like to offer your support to the Youth Zone to help them get back on their feet then please Text Zone00 followed by the amount (suggested £5) to 70070.